This week marks the one year anniversary of the death of Cranberries' lead singer Dolores O'Riordan, and as a tribute, Vic Mensa dropped the official cover (the unofficial release was back in January) of the band's most acclaimed song "Zombie" with his new punk-inspired band, 93PUNX.
Fans of Mensa know that it's not unusual for him to dabble in the alternative category. The "U Mad" artist created his group, 93PUNX, as a platform for the projects he works on, that fall outside his usual hip-hop category. The cover is, indeed, a different sound than what most are used to from Mensa. It pays respect to the original by not straying too far in the delivery, however, the band did rework the song slightly by autotuning the melody to make it sound more monotonous, and by slowing it down slightly. These changes, paired with Mensa's lower pitched vocals, make the song appear arguably even eerier than the original.
The release of the song isn't just to pay tribute to the band's late lead singer though. The original is considered a protest song against the 1993 IRA bombing, and Mensa, a strong gun reform advocate as of a few years ago, wrote in a statement that he and band members, "connected to "Zombie" because we were born from violence,” he finishes with “RIP Dolores.”
Give the song a full listen below, and let us know how you're digging Mensa's new sound.
Quotable Lyrics:
It's the same old theme
Since nineteen-ninety three
In your head, in your head, they're still fightin'
With their tanks, and their bombs
And their bombs, and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are dyin'
